1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to holders for supporting elongated members in a generally upright position and, specifically, to holders for supporting a billiard/pool cue in a generally upright position when not in use.
2. State of the Art
In the game of billiards or pool, it is common for a player not currently shooting to rest his cue against a convenient support surface, such as the arm of a chair. Due to the tapered, cylindrical shape of the cue, the cue can easily roll along the support surface and fall to the floor resulting in damage or even breakage of the cue tip or the cue itself.
What is needed is an easily repositionable holder which can securely hold a billiard or pool cue in a generally upright position when not in use so as to prevent the cue from falling to the floor. While racks are well known for supporting a number of billiard/pool cues when the cues are not in use, such racks are typically stationarily mounted in one location, such as on a wall, and away from the location of chairs typically situated around a billiard/pool table. Thus, it is inconvenient for a player to have to place his cue in a central rack each time he temporarily finishes shooting.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a holder for supporting an elongated object or member in a generally upright position which is easily repositionable and mountable on various support surfaces convenient to a user. It would also be desirable to provide a holder which prevents an elongated object supported in a generally upright position from falling to the floor. It would also be desirable to provide a holder which is specifically designed to support a billiard/pool cue in a generally upright position when the cue is not in use. It would also be desirable to provide a holder for supporting a billiard/pool cue which is easily and releasably mountable on a support surface. Finally, it would be desirable to provide a billiard/pool cue holder which is inexpensive in manufacturing cost and easy to use.